Institute for Business in Society

The U.S. is in the midst of a health care crisis. How patients and communities are cared for is inexorably tied to dollars and cents, and medical and business ethics are both necessary to address the crisis. How can health providers connect the two? Stakeholder theory.

Call it a win-win-win: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation honored Kroger for its Zero Hunger | Zero Waste initiative, which works to end hunger in its local communities and food waste in its entire company — victories for multiple stakeholders and the environment. Here’s how the initiative’s doing just that.

Darden experts provide a practical, step-by-step guide to dealing with identity theft, a phenomenon prevalent with the at-risk population of people who are incarcerated. Greg and Tierney Fairchild wrote a case on the matter for the Resilience Education program they founded to educate prisoners.

Stakeholders don’t just respond to companies’ harmful practices — they respond to perceived harm. Darden Professor Andy Wicks examines how companies should respond to stakeholders’ responses. For example: Assembly Bill 5. Are Uber drivers employees or contractors? Stakeholders and the company disagree.

Opportunity zones offer investors the chance to reduce capital gains taxes by investing in areas high in poverty. But the legislation came with a small window of opportunity, and critics see a lack of visible development thus far. What’s the greatest chance of success for residents and investors? How can the challenges be overcome?

These insights from Darden Ideas to Action articles unveil the value of ethical considerations from a variety of standpoints and in a variety of sectors. They contain lessons for business leaders, employees and consumers.

Equatorial Guinea struggled with malaria for years. The Bioko Island Malaria Elimination Project, a public-private partnership with a stakeholder perspective, has tackled the problem, leading to medical innovation, improved health of inhabitants and increased infrastructure and productivity.

Though agriculture is important to Nigerian economic activity and rice is a major food staple in Nigerian households, the domestic supply does not meet demand. The Value Chain Development Program public-private partnership is designed to improve the livelihoods of economically disadvantaged farmers.

In less than five years, Myanmar coffee went from a low-grade commodity to a high-value specialty sold for premium prices globally. Through training in farming, expertise and training itself — as well as attention to both the supply and demand sides of a market — Value Chains for Rural Development helped farmers and others across the value chain.

A group of prominent CEOs recently issued a statement encouraging business to create value for all stakeholders, not limited to investors. Ed Freeman and his colleagues have been working with Stakeholder Theory for decades. Here, Darden professors across disciplines offer examples of how businesses can (or already are) prioritizing stakeholders.